Architecture representative said that the design team of condominium development to replace the ambassador hotel should look beyond the current layout of the current building.
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- Although the architecture commission regarded the new design as a remarkable improvement, its members said that the plan was still missing the “WoW” factor of other projects that the developers had managed.
- But the project was praised by the residents of South End. The heads of state and government of the Citizens' Association of Palm Beach performed during the design check to support the condominium.
The Palm Beach Architectural Commission has found the updated plans for the proposed development of Ultra-Luxury owner apartments at the southern end of the island and asked its designers to “think beyond the box”.
During an informal review on August 27, the commissioners said that the recent iteration of the project, which was led by Miami's OKO Group and London's private equity company Cain International, was better than the previous redesign. However, they said that the project was still not bent back the architectural standards that were demonstrated by Oko's sister company Aman Resorts. The developer Vlad Doronin Heads Oko Group and Aman Resorts, which specializes in the development of Ultrahohhoh-End-Resort and Hotel-Immobilien worldwide.
The planned plans on August 27 would replace the aging ambassador by the sea and the residences with two five-story buildings and an adjacent residential building on the lake, which is known for years as Edwater House-by a single five-story building. Each location has an underground garage.
“I think it's a little improvement, but I still think that this product can be done so much better,” said Commissioner Betsy Shiverick.
However, most commissioners praised the efforts of the development team to meet the wishes of the neighbors of the property at the southern end.
“Love the support you received from the neighbors, you destroyed that for me,” said Chairman Jeff Smith. “But I try to bring this to an exciting project that everyone can be proud of and will set the pace for future development in the South End.”
After the meeting, Jason Kaye, Director of the Operations Operations in Oko Group, said in an explanation of the Daily News that the development team appreciated the feedback from the Commission, which is informally known as “Arcom”.
“We are encouraged by the positive feedback we received from ARCOM members,” he said. “With the overwhelming support and trust of the Palm Beach community, we are well positioned to deliver the city's most important ultra-luxury apartment project.”
The new plans are a reaction to the criticism of the Commission, which was submitted at its meeting of May 28th. The commissioners said that the design seemed to be out of place for Palm Beach; The buildings resembled offices; And that the structures seemed too bulky – the concerns that were repeated by the design architect Jason Long from Grandma, a prominent international architecture company, at the August meeting.
In order to tackle the appearance of the deception, the design team proposed to reduce the size of the loggias of the top floor, so that parts of the five -story condominiums would only appear high from a street view, said Long.
From the second to the fourth floors, Long said, the project would implement a mixture of 12-foot and 6-foot balconies to create the rooms for indoor and outdoor areas for the residents and the windows of these buildings to frame. The design also aimed to give the facades of the building more character by interaction of the windows and the two balcony styles.
While the change improved the project, it still looked like an office building, said Smith.
“This design is much better than the last two … but it is still the same plan that is camouflaged behind these balconies,” he said.
He said that the designers should consider moving away from the box-shaped three-building design, which has remained constant in the versions of the project. The layout of the project is the result of the efforts of the architects to work in the city's zoning code and at the same time ensure that the picturesque views of neighboring property are preserved, said Long.
However, since the latest design requires the city council to approve 17 variance inquiries to the zoning code, the owners could also apply for additional deviations if this did a more interesting design, said Smith.
“Get three more (deviations) and do the work. Be more creative. You get 17 and we get three boxes,” he said.
Commissioner Elizabeth Connaughton said that the designers should consider breaking down the project into several small units that would pepper the site of the property.
The Commission also faced how the designers tried to include elements to improve the project for Palm Beach.
These elements included the replacement of the Klearian, glazed terracotta balcony columns of the previous plan with Coral Stone-Helbarchsbände. The new design also replaced the stone tile balcony roof of the earlier design by Pecky Cypress, said Long the Commission.
He said the change should use the material and the arches in architecture in the Mediterranean revival style across Palm Beach, as in the Worth Avenue via Mizner.
“Let's give you the wrong news about making it locally … if your design has nothing to do with someone?” Smith said and mentioned so-called “reference” pictures about Mizner-, which were part of the plan presentation.
However, the hardest criticism of the project came from the deputy chairman Richard Sammon, who described the proposed condominiums due to the many large windows of design without shading as “cooled greenhouses”.
“The city, as written in its regulation, prefers a city of spaciousness, good taste, charm … (but) A company product has a hard time doing it,” said Sammons.
As at the meeting in May, Sammon's criticism of South End loaded by the apartment and found that the city's zoning code was drafted in to limit the rampant development of condominiums in the 1970s. “It is a product that fits exactly in the context, but it is the context itself that I protest against,” he said.
The residents of South End offer support
During the public part of the meeting, the projects of the project expressed their support for development. This included representatives of the Beach Point owning apartments in 2660 S. Ocean Blvd. and the condominium in 2770 S. Ocean Blvd.
Both praised the communication and willingness of the development team to adapt the project based on the feedback from the neighbors. The support of the project also commented on Skip Aldridge and Rick Salvadore, co-chair of the Citizens' Association of Palm Beach, an organization that is the interest of around 3,200 inhabitants that live south of the curve of Sloan.
Salvadore found that the developers have been in communication with the organization and neighboring properties since 2023. He said the project would set a high bar for all future condominiums at the South End.
“We are not only concerned about this project. We are also concerned about future projects, as there will probably be more in the coming years,” he said.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist on Palm Beach Daily NewsPart of the USA Today Florida Network. You can reach him dlasa@pbdailynews.com.